The Milliquet's

Tents were packed up, more eggs and avocado were had for breakfast and the three of us headed to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  Stopping at the visitor centre to get a permit to hike the Gunnison route from the top of the canyon down to the Gunnison river, we saw our luck continue as we were given the last permit of the day.  Camelbacks were filled and we set out on what would be an awesome but exhausting hike.  Dropping nearly 2000 feet in about a mile and a half, going down was a mental and physical workout.  At times the footing was on loose rocks, other times sandy, but always steep.  One section was aided by an 80 foot chain, which would come in more handy on the climb back out of the canyon. We enjoyed a small lunch in the shade next to the river, and a beer that Kieran had kindly lugged down with him.  After a few photos we began our ascent from the depths of the Black Canyon.  4 hours after we had begun our hike we were back at the car, sweaty, tired, but feelin

After sleeping in a hotel for the first time in 4 nights we suffered through the 2 star hotel breakfast and headed to 4 corners.  Tori had wanted to see the place where you can stand in 4 states at once, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.  We arrived at the gate to realize that this place was a huge money grab.  Asking for $5 a person, Kieran and I passed and we dropped Tori off.  20 minutes later she returned having stood in 4 states, knowing it wasnt worth the time or money, lesson learned. We then headed back through Cortez, Colorado and made our way to Mesa Verde National Park.  This park captures the history of the native people who lived in this area up until 1380.  The park shows their progress and innovation in housing and lifestyle before they had exhausted the land and left. We saw various attractions in the park and capped the day with a tour of Cliff Palace. Leaving the park we were all amazed at what had been made by the primitive stone tools of the Pueblo people

Kieran and Scott woke up at 4:30 to head into Canyonlands National Park to watch the sunrise at Mesa Arch. 3 hours later after being awed by the emerging canyon and colors of the sunrise, they returned for a short nap, breakfast, and to pick up Tori for the days adventure. After talking to a campground employee the planned hikes at Canyonlands were changed based on the local knowledge.  We arrived back at Canyonlands ready to hike at about 11, and spoke with a Park Ranger who advised us against doing the hike do to the heat.  This advice was eventually important as we all packed additional water for the 8.5 mile Syncline trail down into the canyon and back out. The trail was quite technical, steep, with some small scrambles at various points.  The trek was fun and kept us alert as the path was marked by a series of rock cairns.  Stopping in the shade of an overhanging part of the canyon wall we made some lunch on the hiking stove and carried on after an approximate 30 minute rest. 

After a long day the previous day our intention was to keep the hikes on the shorter side.   We started the day with what would be our most strenuous hike, the 3 mile round trip up to Delicate Arch.  This was a more strenuous climb than anticipated but we reached the top and were in awe of the famous rock structure. Photos were taken and we enjoyed the view from the shade for a short while.  Eventually we climbed down and then drove to a cozy shaded picnic area near the Devil's garden to make lunch. We continued the day doing short hikes to various arches and rock structures as we drove around the park. From arches we made the 2 hour drive to Cortez, Colorado to be nice and close to Mesa Verde National Park in the morning. Delicate Arch Three Gossips on the left Balanced Rock faces, and a butt? a big ape sand dune arch fiery furnace some rock climbers turret arch double arch turret arch when tour bus